Overview
Available to academies and free schools in Hackney only.
We provide a secure online application portal where parents/carers can determine their eligibility for free school meals (FSM) and where we can share each child’s FSM/pupil premium status with schools and academies in real time.
What's included?
We ensure that applications are processed quickly and efficiently, which reduces costs in time and resources for academies, delivers accurate results and maximises on schools ability to claim pupil premium funding.
We also provide face-to-face and telephone support for parents and schools regarding assessment.
Why choose us?
Benefits of this service include:
- immediate confirmation of eligibility using the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) eligibility checking service for both parents and schools
- eligibility updates available in real-time via the online schools portal, SAM
- access to historical FSM/pupil premium status for children who previously attended a Hackney school
- access to historical FSM/pupil premium status for children offered a place to start in Reception or Year 7
- ongoing weekly checks of FSM/pupil premium status for ineligible children
- reassessment of eligibility in line with the Department for Education’s (DfE) transitional protection legislation (due March 2025)
Key statistics
46.9% of Hackney secondary aged pupils and 40.7% of Hackney primary aged pupils are known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals.
DfE - Schools, pupils and their characteristics for 2023/24
Hackney schools benefited from over £17 million Pupil Premium funding in 2023/24.
DfE - Pupil premium allocations and conditions of grant 2023 to 2024